Five Miserable People in Churches Today

Five Things that Hinder Our Joy

Revelation 3:14-17

 

Pastor Craig Ledbetter

29 August, 2010   PM

Bible Baptist Church, Ballincollig, Cork, Ireland

www.biblebc.com

 

I.       Introduction (Contrast Rev 3:14-17 with John 16:33)

 

A.     I wish we all believed that verse! I find it hard sometimes, so I know there must be others who find it hard as well!

B.     But Jesus tells us to Rejoice – to be of GOOD CHEER – in the face of any and all tribulation we may be going through

C.     I want to introduce you to five miserable people in the Bible, some of which were saved and going to heaven. No doubt you know people like this. I’ve known plenty. Well, here in this Book are provided for us an examination of both why they were miserable, and the answers to their misery.

D.     A man once said, “If a man’s salvation has not made him glad, it has made him nothing at all!”

E.      I believe learning from these five miserable people can help us, and our own attitudes. The five kinds of miserable people are:

 

1.      Those who are unsure of their Salvation

2.      Those who are undisciplined in Prayer

3.      Those who are unseparated from Sin

4.      Those who are unwilling to witness for the Lord

5.      Those who are uncertain of the Will of God for their life

 

II.    Message - Five Miserable People in Churches Today

 

A.     The Person Unsure of His Salvation is Miserable – Thomas (John 20:24,25)

 

1.      Here was Thomas – one of the twelve disciples of Jesus the Messiah

 

a.       Supposed to be a “believer,” yet was quite unsure Jesus was even alive after the crucifixion – just never settled the facts in his heart!

b.      Should have been the happiest man alive – that His Lord was alive, and had conquered sin and death – oh man, if anyone should have been excited, Thomas should have been

c.       But he was miserable – hiding away up in an upper room, unsure of anything that Jesus spoke about now – why?

 

2.      Many people are miserable because:

 

a.       There is no change in their life (2 Cor 5:17) - Needs to evaluate his salvation experience, and see if he or she was “just praying a prayer” or if they are really repenting, and trusting completely in Christ!

b.      There is no supernatural love for other Christians in their heart (1 John 3:14). Most Christians need to re-evaluate their love for each other!

c.       There is no chastisement in their walk (Heb 12:6-8). If you see yourself getting away with a lot of sin right now, it ought to make you wonder – make you afraid! You will always be miserable until your eternity is settled and in Christ’s hands!!!

 

3.      People Confuse Spiritual Awakening with Conversion.

 

a.       People feel that since they care about going to church, and are interested in the Bible, and they love their neighbour, they must be a Christian

b.      But that is just spiritual awareness, that is not conversion – the changing of the person

c.       People are trusting their own “spiritual-ness” instead of Jesus Christ

d.      They end up in hell with the devil!

e.       Let’s look at what the Bible says about “Conversion”.

 

1)      God’s word was written to CONVERT the soul (Psalm 19:7)

2)      All sinners need to be “converted” unto God (Psalm 51:12,13)

3)      Conversion involves starting all over and becoming like a little child again (Mt 18:3) – that’s why it is called being Born Again!

4)      Even the Apostle Peter needed conversion (Lk 22:32). He was a follower, but not changed

5)      All the efforts of Paul and the Christians in the Bible was directed at one goal (Act 15:3) – the  Conversion of the Gentiles

6)      Conversion is a complete Transformation (Isa 51:3). God compares what He was going to do to the desert, to what He wanted to do to the heart

 

4.      Spiritual Awakening is only the first step (Acts 26:17,18)

 

a.       Look at the process of a person’s spiritual awakening:

 

1)      People’s eyes have to be opened – they are blind by nature

2)      People have to be redirected from darkness to light

3)      And they have to be informed that they can be free from the power of Satan (puppeteer) to the power of God

4)      ALL so that they can be given the forgiveness of sins, and an eternal inheritance in heaven

 

b.      The first three steps are all part of spiritual awakening

c.       That last step is the receiving of the free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23)

d.      The problem occurs when a person becomes spiritually aware of things, and becomes concerned about spiritual things, but never gets converted

e.       Everything in a person’s life up to the time of their salvation is leading them to something called “repentance” – not penance, but a determined change of heart towards God

f.       The sad things is, most people only get on the train of religion, but never find Jesus as their Saviour!

 

g.       In simple terms:

 

1)      Spiritual Awakening is an awareness that you need God

2)      Conversion is a complete change, a transformation BY God

3)      Awakening is when a person begins to think they should start living better, or stop sinning, or go back to church, hug their wife and kids, put the drink down, start tithing, saying their prayers again, obeying the speed limit, etc.

4)      Conversion is when a person is transformed from the inside out – changed BY the presence of God in their life (2Cor 5:17) – not by your own will power

 

5.      The Answer rests in settling your eternity on:

 

a.       The written words of God.

 

1)      What does God say? - not your emotions! “I don’t feel anything,” or, “I don’t agree with your opinion,” or whatever is your reasoning! Find out what God said to do, and then, by faith alone, DO IT!!! Trusting that only GOD’S ways work!

2)      What did Jesus promise you and me? Believe it, and live it!

 

b.      The FINISHED WORK of Jesus Christ - no longer YOUR work! Believe that His blood completely paid for your sins!

c.       A Christian is sure of heaven because of Christ – period!

 

B.     The Person Undisciplined in Prayer is Miserable - King Saul (1Sam 14:36-37)

 

1.      One of the ingredients to Saul’s downfall was an undisciplined prayer life

2.      King Saul was an awful king. His attitude towards God and towards others was dreadful – just wanted to kill David for the last 7 years of his life.

3.      He only prayed at desperate times – never developed a “walk with God”

 

a.       He was Lazy in his prayer life. Not a priority – never see him up early (Psalm 5:3) to pray like David, and Christ was!

b.      He was Last minute in his prayer life – always in final desperation!

c.       He was Lost for words in his prayer life – didn’t really want to fellowship (open up his heart) with God. Just going through the motions (1Sam 15:22-31)

 

4.      We were created to walk with God, and to fellowship with Him. It is in our nature to lean upon God. It is when we do not fulfil our design, that we become very miserable. The opposite to King Saul was King David!

5.      What should the Christian’s walk with God be like?

 

a.       A regular prayer time each morning – set aside, and protected – people do meditation, and mental techniques: A Christian PRAYS!

b.      A moment by moment choice to seek wisdom and strength from God

c.       A constant attitude of praise and thankfulness towards God for EVERYTHING – communing with God throughout the day, and night

d.      A desire to pray with everyone about EVERYTHING

 

1)      When someone is ill – take time out to pray first off – even when they have run out of faith!

2)      When things are going wrong, take time to pray, right then

3)      When things are great, stop and pray and praise God

 

6.      When we are undisciplined in our prayer life, then our overall life will be miserable! Mark it down!

7.      Prayer changes things! Especially your view on life!

 

C.     The Person Unseparated from Sin is Miserable (1Cor 5:11)

 

1.      Two Examples: Lot (2 Pet 2:7,8), and Solomon (1Kgs 11:2)

 

a.       They were Miserable because they lost fellowship with God

b.      They were Miserable because they lost your family (Ps 106:35-37)

c.       They were Miserable because they lost your power (2Tim 2:21).

 

2.      Who would want to spend their Christian life constantly grieving, hindering, quenching, and frustrating the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives?

 

a.       It was the power of the Holy Spirit that enabled Jesus to defeat every enemy, and have joy in the face of such opposition – it will only be the same with you!

b.      It was the power of sin that ruined the wisest man ever

 

3.      Sin will only ruin you (Romans 6:23a; Jam 1:15; Josh 6:7,8)! May be fun for a while, but in the end, it will leave you ruined (Pr 20:17)

4.      Do you want to know why some of you are miserable and yet on your way to heaven? Because your sin is more important to you than God!

 

D.     The Person Unwilling to Witness for the Lord is Miserable – Jeremiah (Jer 20:7-9; Romans 10:11)

 

1.      The person who has been born-again, and invited the God and Saviour of this universe into their hearts, will find it very hard NOT to open their mouths and tell somebody about it! They will have to work VERY hard to keep quiet… if they are saved!

2.      We have bought the lie of the devil that we will be better off if we just keep our mouths shut about our relationship with Jesus

3.      Jeremiah teaches us – you only will be miserable

 

a.       All of his witnessing had only gotten him in trouble

b.      But the minute he stopped passing on God’s words to the people, he became REALY miserable – worse off

 

4.      The happiest Christian alive is the one who has a clear conscience, and clean hands (Acts 26:2) – clean from the blood of their family, and their neighbours, and their co-workers. To have done what we know must be done releases us from guilt and shame (see Peter’s misery after he has denied knowing Jesus 3 times)!

 

E.      The Person Uncertain of the Will of God is Miserable – Martha (Lk 10:38-42)

 

1.      Martha just had at least 13 grown men show up at her home unexpectedly. It was evening, and she clearly didn’t know what to do for them. She begins running around her kitchen trying to put together a feast, and wearing herself out – and then Jesus helps her see that there was only one thing needful at that moment – get close to Him!

2.      Sometimes, we are uncertain of God’s will, and unsure what our next steps should be in life.

 

a.       We were sure of God’s will that we repent and get saved

b.      We were sure of God’s will that we learn this Bible

c.       But we may not be all that sure of whether God has a mate for us, or just what job to get into, or whether we should move here or there so to speak

 

3.      They key is in knowing what God has clearly defined as right to do, and make sure that we are busy doing those things – and only then will we see His hand in directing our lives toward the other things

4.      What is God’s clearly defined and expressed will? It is called, “walking the Narrow Way

 

a.       That everyone, everywhere repent, and ask Jesus to save them – the will of God for your life

b.      That everyone, everywhere get baptized and join up with a Bible-believing church

c.       That everyone, everywhere witness the gospel to everyone, everywhere

d.      That everyone, everywhere be filled with the Holy Spirit

e.       That everyone, everywhere be thankful for everything

f.       That everyone, everywhere be servants

g.       That everyone, everywhere suffer through every trial as CHRISTIANS

 

5.      You get those things in motion (not just sitting there), and I guarantee that you will find yourself in God’s time, right in the middle of God’s will, with the right mate, working at the right job, with the greatest peace of heart imaginable!

 

III. Conclusion –

 

A.     Thomas was Unsure of His Salvation, and was Miserable. He (like many of us) was miserable because:

 

1.      There is no change in his life (2 Cor 5:17)

2.      There is no supernatural love for other Christians in his heart

3.      There is no chastisement in his walk (Heb 12:6-8).

4.      Check what you are trusting in

 

B.     King Saul was Undisciplined in Prayer, and was Miserable.

 

1.      Miserable because he was:

 

a.       Lazy in his prayer life. Not a priority

b.      Last minute in his prayer life

c.       Lost for words in his prayer life – didn’t really want to fellowship (open up his heart) with God. Just going through the motions

 

2.      What should be the Christian’s walk with God?

 

a.       A regular prayer time each morning – set aside, and protected

b.      A moment by moment choice to seek wisdom and strength from God

c.       A constant attitude of praise and thankfulness towards God for EVERYTHING – communing with God throughout the day, and night

d.      A desire to pray with everyone about EVERYTHING

 

C.     Lot and Solomon were Unseparated from Sin, and were Miserable.

                                                         

1.      Miserable because they lost fellowship with God

2.      Miserable because they lost their family (Ps 106:35-37)

3.      Miserable because they lost their power (2Tim 2:21).

 

D.     Jeremiah was briefly Unable to Witness for the Lord, and was Miserable. The happiest Christian alive is the one who has a clear conscience, and clean hands – clean from the blood of their family, and their neighbours, and their co-workers. To have done what we know must be done releases us from guilt and shame (see Peter’s misery after he has denied knowing Jesus 3 times)!

E.      Martha was Uncertain of the Will of God, and was Miserable.

 

1.      Don’t wear yourself out only doing what you THINK is good

2.      Do the will of God – you know, the will that you don’t want to do!

3.      You will never be happier!

 

F.      How about YOU?